King Charles Has $750 Million Net Worth

King Charles has amassed a net worth of $750 million, or £600 million, making him almost twice as wealthy as his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, according to a report out in the weeks before his May 6 coronation.

The king's wealth, published in The Times "Rich List" Sunday, shows that the king is wealthier than some of England's largest celebrities, David and Victoria Beckham and Sir Elton John.

In last year's Rich List, the queen's fortune was calculated as being around $460 million, or £370 million. Her son's wealth has continued to grow over the years as he rebuilt his finances after his multimillion-dollar divorce from his first wife, Princess Diana, in the mid-1990s.

A former aide of Charles' said the king, while a monarch-in-waiting, saved some of the profits he was receiving from the Duchy of Cornwall.

"He became prudent at tucking away some money from the Duchy after that wipeout [of capital]," said his former aide, whose name was not given. "We're not talking vast sums here — several tens of millions, no more."

There has been some talk that when then-Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now known as Queen Consort Camilla but will be crowned queen at the coronation, she brought a sizable fortune into the union, "but that's really not correct," the source told The Times.

The Duchy of Cornwall, which is traditionally overseen by the heir to the throne, is a private estate dating back to the 14th century that includes holdings of 130,000 acres, 260 farms, the Oval cricket grounds in south London, and the land housing Dartmoor's prison. It will now be overseen by the king's oldest son, Prince William, who became the Duke of Cornwall with the death of his grandmother, the queen.

The Duchy of Lancaster, meanwhile, is overseen by the reigning monarch.

While overseeing the Duchy of Cornwall, Charles, between 2011 and 2022, increased its annual profits by 42.6%, increasing its overall wealth to just under $1.3 billion.

In 1990, Charles also launched the Duchy Originals range, which sold produce from the Highrove House estate at first through Harrods and at Fortnum & Mason. The range also sold herbal medicine, garden tools, beer, and biscuits (what Americans call cookies).

In addition to building wealth, King Charles is also known for his frugal lifestyle, with most of his choices being linked to his stance on environmentalism, including being firm about turning off the lights in unused rooms.

He is known to wear suits and shoes he's owned for years, and he once told Vogue magazine that he is "one of those people who hate throwing anything away."

Meanwhile, the king got $264 million from the duchy in the years 2012 to 2022 and chose to pay income tax on his earnings, even though he was not obliged to do so.

However, the royal finances do bring some confusion, as the three estates holding the bulk of wealth are not personally owned by the monarch, and both duchies and the Crown Estate must comply with strict rules, with then-Prince Charles being permitted to spend only Cornwall's annual profits.

"A lot of people do get confused about the royal finances — wrongly thinking that [the royal family] personally own the Crown Estate and the duchies," said author Robert Hardman, who has written a biography about Queen Elizabeth.

"In all honesty, their financial arrangements really aren't as complex as [those of] many royal families and rulers in other countries, which are often far more opaque," he said. "Our monarchy really isn't as wealthy as many people would believe. I certainly don't think the king is a billionaire."

The Crown Estate, meanwhile, is owned only "in the right of the crown" and not the monarch, personally. Its annual profits go to the British Treasury, not the king, and he gets 25% back to fund the royal household's expenditures.

King Charles also is forbidden from selling the Crown Estate's assets, as the institution is independent of the family.

There are similar rules to the Duchy of Lancaster, which King Charles now controls. It dates back to the 14th century and has $810 million in net assets.

The king also does not personally own several properties that have been associated with him, including Dumfries House or the Castle of Mey. A trust owns the Royal Collection and its statues, paintings, jewels, and other treasures.

He does own the valuable assets of Sandringham and Balmoral. Sandringham, in Norfolk, with its castle and hundreds of acres of apple orchards, has belonged to the royal family for more than 160 years, The Times reports.